It is that time of year again: it is time to make My 2020 Garden Plan! You might be asking: where should we start, and where should we begin? Those are excellent questions, and that is the very point of today’s Small Scale Gardening Podcast where I discuss A 3 Step Planning Process for My 2020 Garden that you can also implement for your garden!
I don’t know about you, but I have been looking at my snow-covered garden and getting the itch to grow something, taste something fresh and make some delicious pickles, relish or salsa.
Who is with me?
I had to pop open a Mason Jar of Dilly Beans today just to taste some of my homegrown produce today. There is no doubt that this long slog from January to April in the northland really gives a gardener cabin-fever, but it is these quiet, cold nights where we come up with new ideas and our garden plans for the new season. It is also almost time to start growing those seedlings!
If you are new to gardening, you might feel overwhelmed. Maybe you want to grow everything in that shiny seed catalog! Maybe you just don’t know where to start.
For veteran gardeners, you are probably so used to growing the same stuff that you don’t think about it too much. You might be curious how other gardeners “DO IT,” and by that I mean creating a 2020 Garden Plan. You can get your mind out of the rain gutter now!
In this podcast episode and post, and I am going to talk about the following:
- Looking Back at 2019
- 3 Step Planning Process for My 2020 Garden
- Step 1: My Ultimate Garden List
- Step 2: Reality Check: Reducing the List
- What is Whole30?
- Step 3: Finalizing My 2020 Garden Plan (List of Vegetables and Herbs)
- Next Steps
2018 Garden Planning Process vs. 2020 Garden Planning Process
For those of you who have been around Small Scale Life for a while, I have talked about this process before. I have a podcast episode from 2018 where I talked about this process. That episode is titled “How to Develop a 2018 Garden Plan.”
Listening to this one and looking at the text, it brings back a lot of memories! Doing Tommy Cakes Midweek Motivation episodes and the process of moving to this house. Maybe I need to bring back a little Tommy Cakes….it does bring me joy!
I digress. The key difference between that 2018 Process and this one is tying Garden Plan to a very powerful WHY. In this 3 Step Garden Planning Process, I tied my garden plan to Julie and my Whole 30 Challenge and developing a heathy habits and an overall healthy lifestyle. This is essentially the Health and Fitness Renew You Challenge Part 2!
Studies have shown that when you tie efforts, habits and lifestyle to powerful WHYS. Having a powerful why at the core of your life, projects and efforts gives you that edge when times get tough or when the storms of life roll over you.
In fact, my friend Captain Lumbersquatch Greg Burns alays reminds us to “start with the why” before starting projects or efforts, and he talked about that very point in the podcast episode titled “Homesteading for Beginners: Start with the Why.” That is one of our most popular episodes here on Small Scale Life for good reason: it shows how an experienced homesteader can mentor two guys who have a ton of excitement and little practical experience in real time. It was a great show, and it does tie right in with this 3 Step Garden Planning Process!
Next Steps
Where do we go after finishing My 2020 Garden Plan? What are the next steps?
Like many gardeners, I literally have a bucket full of seeds. It is time to go through the seeds I have in my bucket and take an inventory of what I have and what I need this year. I know I need some seeds for a few things on the list including the multicolored carrots and the Zephyr Zucchini (from Johnny’s Seeds). I will go ahead and buy a couple packets of these for this season.
I have saved seeds from a variety of my plants, and I can’t wait to plant them! I have seeds for the tomatoes, peppers and sugar snap peas. I will have to check to see what else I have on hand.
As we conclude this 3 Step Garden Planning Process, it is great to have a good idea what I am growing this year. It is always fun to think about what is possible and narrow it down from there. Working with other family members and thinking about what worked and what didn’t in the garden really does help narrow the list of ALL the things. Finally tying your garden to other lifestyle efforts/habits will help you in both worlds: in your gardening efforts and in your healthy lifestyle.
Make sense? Did you see what I did there?
It’s time to develop your Garden Plan. Make it yours! If you need help or suggestions, feel free to contact me at smallscalelife.com on the Contact Us page or at smallscalegardening@gmail.com!
Good luck, and let’s learn, do and grow together!
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Special Thanks
For Small Scale Life Podcasts, I would like to thank Sean at Osi and the Jupiter for the intro song "Harvest." Sean wrote this specifically for us, and I really enjoy all of his work. You can find more Osi and the Jupiter at their Bandcamp site: https://osifolk.bandcamp.com/
I would also like to thank Austin Quinn at Vlog Vibes for the intro and outro music. For more information abut Austin and Vlog Vibes, please see the Vlog Vibes YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY80LeqtJf-YBzJy2TWKpDw